Iluvîn Elpharac

General

Iluvîn Elpharac [ɪlʊvnnn əlfaʁa:] was a merchant from Tor and later the governor of Quanar at the time of the Old Empire. He was also the founder of the Tárren dynasty.

He was born in Tor in 5690 A.I.D. and died in Quaräa in 5766 A.I.D.

Appareance

Iluvîn Elpharac was seriously injured in his encounter with the Shûvern and his skin damaged. However, since after thousands of years there was nothing but charcoal drawings and stories about him, it was wrongly assumed that his skin naturally had the shape as it can be seen on his statues and was not a result of his medical treatment.

These scars led to the erroneous identification of Iluvîn Elpharac as one of the Old Ones long after his death.

Personality

Iluvîn Elpharac was a rather coarse or prole person and a daredevil. This changed after his collision with the Shûvern of Quaräa, after which he became a contemplative personality.

Life

Life as a merchant

Iluvîn Elpharac belonged to a trade conglomerate in the city of Tor in the Rift. Since the region was already enormously important for trade at that time, trade also played a prominent role in the aristocratically influenced city politics. Tor was also repeatedly in conflict with the Imperii Draconi over this. After a certain loosening of the aristocracy, upstarts who had become rich were also able to organize themselves at the instigation of the empire and were thus given a say.

Elpharac belonged to such a group. After an attempted fraud involving the entire group, they were put on trial. Justice was administered according to the principle of the 'ballot box court'. Everyone in the group, without prior agreement, had to write down the name of another member and anonymously place it in an urn. After everyone had made their choice, the urn was broken and the votes counted. The one whose name had been written down the most would be banished indefinitely. This created discord in the group, as everyone would vote for the one among their 'friends' that they disliked the least. Elpharac was that unfortunate one.

In addition to the banishment of one member of the group, the families of all involved were forced to pay compensation. The only exception to this fine was the family of the outcast, as they had lost an important member of their business, which would result in much greater loss in the long run.

Journey to Quanar

Elpharac then traveled to Quanar in 5721 A.I.D., where he had a cousin, hoping to be accepted there. In Quanar, however, he found that his cousin had been killed by a Shûvern. Shûvern was a term used at the time to describe creatures that had been corrupted by the unsustainable use of magic or by accident and had become dark beings.

Hunt

Elpharac took over his cousin's household and, seeking revenge, decided to hunt down the Shûvern. He was thought to be mad, but he did not let that stop him.

Elpharac returned to the city without his armor (except for the helmet) which had been burned away by the wyrm and its acid. Therefore he wore only a loincloth. He survived the return to the city despite his injuries. Since he had dragged the Shûvern's head all the way back to Quanar, it was also proven that he had indeed killed the creature.

Aftermath

These events changed Elpharac permanently. The near-death experience and the physical emaciation made him shed his coarse manner in the long run and become a calmer man.

After his victorious return, Iluvîn Elpharac was declared ruler of Quanar (albeit reluctantly). His development of character meant that he actually had no strong interest in this.

In fact, a few days after his return, Elpharac found the crowd at his front door when he actually only wanted to fetch water - after they had even prayed in large numbers in front of his house. In the narrations about him it is not handed down that he said: "Clear the way!" (By which he actually only meant that he could get to the well, however, this is now the motto of the Quaräan army) The people interpreted it to mean that they should clear the road in the direction of the fortress, and that he was willing to comply with their request.

He was then more or less taken to office by the people, which pushed him straight from his cousin's house to the fortress. He was also still too weakened to really fight back.

Context

Elpharac was chosen as the new ruler mainly because of the political and social unrest prevailing in Quanar at the time during the Interregnum. Large parts of the human population longed for an ordering heroic figure, which they found in him.

Live as Governor

Elpharac had no political experience. His education as a merchant, however, benefited the city in the long run - to his own surprise. His rise resulted in tensions between Quanar and Tor, as many of the larger merchant families had representatives who had voted for his banishment. Because of Quanar's power, Tor's elite therefore had to make many concessions to keep the newruler in good humor.

Elpharac fulfilled his duties, but never really liked being the ruler of Quanar. For this reason he let his daughter Voestra Elpharaca take part in the government early and left more and more tasks to her. After his death, power passed to her.

Reception

In modern Quanar, Iluvîn Elpharac is considered a synonym of eroticism because of his handed down stately figure. According to urban myth, touching the chain on the staff of the statue dedicated to him promises great heroic deeds in the future. This leads young people from poor backgrounds in particular to take this 'test' upon themselves in the hope of a better future for themselves and their families.

The Tárren refer to Iluvîn Elpharac as the founder of their dynasty.